DEMONSTRATING EEE RECOVERY FOR REUSE IN A DISTINCT URBAN MINE: A CASE STUDY

At the heart of the circular economy model is the reorientation of consumer behaviours away from disposing of items before they reach end of their functional life as a step towards resource efficiency and reduction of environmental impacts. One way to facilitate this change is to enable proactive redistribution of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) with reuse value from urban spaces followed by high quality recycling at end-of-life. We have conducted the first assessment and critical evaluation of a model for the recovery of reusable EEE from a distinct urban mine (DUM) - in this case, a university. The Infrastructure, Service and Behaviour (ISB) model was used as a guide for interventions. Small EEE recovered from two Halls of Residence at the University of Southampton were characterised, visually inspected and sorted. From the items inspected visually, 97% was reusable and were donated to participating charities for redistribution via reuse/sale. The results show that an ISB Model system designed using choice architecture to recover reusable EEE from a DUM contributes strongly to extending products' lifetimes and promotes circular economy ambitions. The study provides strong evidence of a viable reuse-based recovery system for small EEE in a university DUM and with a potential for replicability at global scale. It is recommended that a carefully planned and tailored system based on the ISB model should be put in place in universities for the recovery and redistribution of reusable EEE (ReEEE) and that recycling is implemented only after practical options for reuse have been exhausted.

Automated summary

The article highlights the importance of reorienting consumer behaviors in the circular economy model and validates the feasibility and effectiveness of recovering and reusing reusable EEE from urban mines through empirical research. The results show that a carefully planned and implemented system based on the ISB model can effectively promote product lifetime extension and circular economy development.